Stray

    Battle begins

    After saying that, Nemo Wright - or the Demon King himself, drew his hand back and made a simple gesture.

    The pain that lasted for years stopped at that moment.

    Oluori put his hand on the wall of the bakery in the illusion, the touch was rough and cool, and the air was faintly permeated with a reassuring aroma. The chatter of passersby was faintly heard not far away.

    He looked at his hands, the cuffs of the waiter uniform were white and clean, leaving no trace of blood and sand, as if nothing had happened.

    Since the body died, the flesh and blood belonging to the lantern blind bug in this body began to rot irreversibly. The eyeballs provided by Delarion can only slow down the rate of its decay, but cannot solve the problem at its root. The pain of death continued to gnaw at his internal organs from the inside, and now it finally stopped.

    The mild and dry air, the body without pain, the despair of dying not long ago is like a phantom.

    But O'Rouree didn't believe that death was far away because of this - he only felt more and more cold, the ominous chill extended from his limbs to his heart, and the expression of the black-haired youth in front of him became more and more sad.

    His father was grieving.

    O'Rouree didn't know whether the tears she shed at the moment were because of sadness or joy. He had never cried before, and he didn't know how to stop it at this time. After living too long, the Demon Slayer didn't have much emotion left, and now they were huddled together, and they all melted into those tears.

    The sky in the fantasy world is getting brighter and the sun is about to rise.

    "You don't like darkness." Nemo touched his facial features, and his movements looked a little weird and jerky. "I...sorry, I'm not very good at handling this situation."

    His voice was soft and he looked more sad.

    "How long do I have?" O'Lori coughed again, blood splashing on the white cuff of the waiter's suit. Dirty again, he thought regretfully, a numb dizziness creeping up his spine.

    "...less than ten minutes." Nemo closed his eyes. "The best I can do is this, O'Lore, I'm sorry..."

    "You don't need to be sorry, it's been longer than I thought. I'm glad, Father."

    O'Rouree could feel his long-stiff facial muscles twist, which was probably a smile.

    He thought he had a lot to say.

    But now, looking at the street in front of him, he felt a lot more relieved. No words, no regrets, grief, or anything else, can make those missed moments come back. There was not much time left for himself, and he didn't want to waste it expressing regrets.

    "You remember."

    "Yes."

    "Don't blame Della Lanene too much. He doesn't really hate you, Father. He just..."

    Oluori remembered his partner who was still waiting at the entrance of the abyss, and chose the first topic in his gradually hazy consciousness.

    "No, that's my problem."

    Nemo hesitated for a moment, then awkwardly reached out again and patted his head. Orori doubted which human he had learned it from, but it didn't matter at the moment.

    "Well, I just wanted to be a flesh and blood puppet for you to explore around. I found that he has self-awareness, and I should not simply consider him a failure, and..."

    "Ask me if I want to take him for dinner, he was so frightened that he remembers it now." O'Lori let out a chuckle, then coughed violently.

    "You were so young at that time. It stands to reason that you should eat in time... No, it is good to eat more." Nemo gestured and scratched his head habitually.

    "Fortunately, I refused at the time." O'Luo Rui looked at the false sky above his head, and the sky near the sunrise had turned slightly white. "He's a good partner. Father, I know you've had some conflicts..."

    "It's just a different position, I don't know what he thinks, at least I don't hold him against him." Nemo sighed, "Don't worry, as long as Della Lenien doesn't do too much things , I will not embarrass him."

    O'Luo Rui nodded slightly, and the curvature of the smile on the corner of his mouth became wider.

    "You said 'worry,'" he muttered. "You really are different."

    He immediately received a hug that was a little awkward and alienating, and O'Lorrie opened his eyes wide and couldn't help shivering.

    "I can guess the reason for the things you did." The Demon King with the appearance of a young man said, "...You did a good job."

    "I saw the surface, O'Lore. I like the way it is now. The stories you told me were interesting, but I'm only now discovering that. I never really I understand you, I…”

    O'Rouree hesitated for a few seconds, then he stretched out his hand and tentatively grabbed the fabric of the other's back. Although the pain no longer bothered him, his eyelids were getting heavier.

    "I shouldn't have said those words to you." Nemo seemed to be trying to tighten the hug.

    "But I'm leaving you for the second time." The Demon Slayer answered vaguely, he could feel the Demon King's body stiffen. "I'll never come back this time, if I'm not around, it's just you..."

    The rotation of thinking is still a bit stagnant, but Nemo can't help but feel sour.

    The emotion he once regarded as useless was making it hard for him to breathe. Yes, maybe it didn't do him any good at the moment. But it can give him an answer, a spell that can make the other party more calm.

    "It's okay."

    The voice was a little bitter, and Nemo patted the back of the demon in his arms.

    “…I will be sad, but I will get over it and remember you.”

    Always remember. Not as a piece of information, not as a tiny life that had been fed, but as a person who would bring pain, but he was still willing to miss.

    "But if you continue to stay here by yourself like this..." O'Lori seemed to want to say something else.

    Nimo was silent for a moment. He probably knew what the other party wanted to say, and the guilt in Aurora's tone almost solidified.

    I didn't realize it in time.

    "Listen, Aurora."

    Nemo gripped the ends of his grey hair. He learned to touch emotions, and he also learned to lie—

    "I'll be fine." He lied, "If I can figure out a way to leave the first time, I can figure out a way to leave the second time. Unlike before, I won't deny the present again. Feeling...I have unfinished business on the surface."

    "Not done...?"

    "I fell in love with a human."

    The body of the demon in his arms shook in shock.

    "You're right, I care about 'that Lopez boy' from the bottom of my heart. If you hadn't taken in and taught Flint Lopez, I couldn't Oliver Ramon met. You did a great job, O'Leary...in a sense, you did save me."

    Even if he will be erased by Ulysses, this emotion will eventually turn to ashes. At this moment, he does have it.

    That's enough.

    "I'll be fine." He repeated, his tone habitually carried the majesty of a superior. Nemo didn't stop and continued to lie. "I won't stay here, I won't be alone. Trust me."

    "...I wish I could investigate that human again." O'Lorei sighed in a low voice, "But now... I wish you could return to the surface as soon as possible, father. I hope Ramon is different from me. I wouldn't have found you now if it wasn't for the fear and suspicion I still have about you..."

    He said softly, a bit of bitterness mixed in his smile.

    "You are gentler than I thought. Before you left the abyss, my body was still alive. That 'Ulysses' would attack all living creatures nearby, but only the one who never approached me The main body...even you at that time, still remember that I was here...protected me..."

    He let go of that hug, his orange eyes half-closed, getting darker.

    "Look, Father. Feelings aren't useless, neither mine nor yours. They've made me live so long, and I should have died."

    Oluori turned her head slightly and looked at the rising sun in the illusion.

    Nimo silently grabbed the opponent's wrist and tried to deliver more magic power, but found that the opponent's magic circuit had begun to collapse, his heartbeat was getting weaker and weaker, and he couldn't absorb any more.

    "Let me answer your question now, the last time I left here, I just wanted to tell you one thing... I've been wanting to tell you for so many years. If it were you now, you should can understand..."

    The melancholy that had been entangled in the Demon Slayer's eyebrows finally melted away. At the last moment, O'Lorrie didn't look at Nemo, he continued to stare at the false sunrise, heaving a sigh of relief—

    “…Thank you for giving me the opportunity to see the world.”

    There is no dissatisfaction, regret, nor reluctance or attachment. There was nothing but pure gratitude in that sentence.

    Simple and persistent.

    "My pleasure." Nemo replied softly, giving him another hug.

    But he was still a few seconds slower, and only fine ashes were scattered in the air in front of him. The undead wandering in the world was finally able to rest, and the body that had already reached the limit was turned into powder.

    I can't always say goodbye.

    The streets disappeared, the pedestrians disappeared, and only the faint dawn still shone at the bottom of the abyss. This time, what it illuminates is not a peaceful and quiet human town, but a corpse pile that exists in reality not far away.

    Nemo stood up and walked over to the dead body of the lantern blind bug. He stretched out his hand and carefully stroked the demon's icy body.

    "Have a good dream, Aurora."

    The crimson flames ignited, the white round eyes that were not closed by the blind insect were illuminated by the firelight, and the corpse began to gradually turn into powder.

    The next battle, he does not want the other side to see.

    In the past few thousand years, Nemo has not revealed much about himself to O'Lorore. Orori may not be clear, but he knows it very well in his heart - in the face of a "Ulysses" who combines the strengths of all demon kings in history and only has a fighting instinct, in theory, he has no chance of winning.

    Nemo raised his eyes and looked at Ulysses who was standing quietly not far away. As O'Lori's body burned, it began to murderous and restless again.

    Whether it's the Demon King who always follows the best choice, or Nemo Wright of Roadmark Town, maybe he won't make senseless resistance again. He tried and struggled, didn't he?

     Nemo stretched out a hand, and a dark shadow formed a rope in his palm. He twisted the rope skillfully, and tied the black hair that was loose at the back of his head into a short ponytail.

    [Your actions are meaningless and you have no chance of winning. 】A voice repeated in his heart, familiar and cold.

    [I know. ] He replied calmly to himself.

    【You know what is waiting for you. With Jesse Dylan still on the surface, Oliver Ramon may have known the truth. 】

    [I know. 】

    [He is a human after all, even if he doesn't take the initiative to attack you now, he will one day. This body will be destroyed, return to the body, screen out useless feelings, and you will continue with the original plan. And he promised Nemo Wright that he would give priority to maintaining peace on the surface. 】

    [I know. 】

    【If you don't act early, he will definitely kill you. Now that you can calculate all the possibilities, you know this very well. What you are doing now will only give him more time to become stronger. 】

    Nemo stopped and took a few deep breaths. The extremely destructive momentum suddenly exploded, and the bottom of the abyss was suddenly filled with flying sand and rocks. He moved his neck and stared intently at the huge and twisted monster not far away—that was his own form more than 20 years ago.

    [I have learned two very important pieces of information on the surface - dying is very effective. 】

    He calmly responded to the "instinct" that was tumbling in his heart.

    [And in this world, nothing is "destined". 】

    Nemo stepped on the ground, the fine sand dispersed, and the ground suddenly sank into a huge pit full of cracks. The black shadow spread out like fangs around him, biting straight at the target—

    "Come on, Ulysses."

    The shadow collided with the sharp limbs, and a series of sharp explosions exploded in the icy air.

    "Until one of us falls."